Unruffled, the prez took the high road, noting his respect for "the passion of these young people because they feel deeply about the concerns of their families."

"Now, what you need to know, when I'm speaking as president of the United States, and I come to this community, is that, in fact, if I could solve all these problems without passing laws in Congress, then I would do so," said Obama. "But we're also a nation of laws. That's part of our tradition. And so the easy way out is to try to yell and pretend like I can do something by violating our laws."

He continued: "What I'm proposing is the harder path, which is to use our democratic processes to achieve the same goal that you want to achieve, but it won't be as easy as just shouting. It requires us lobbying and getting it done."

Obama, who is currently on a West Coast fundraising swing, subsequently flew to Los Angeles after the event and a pair of fundraisers in San Fran where he attended a reception at Magic Johnson's Beverly Hills home.

The president is scheduled to attend another fundraiser Tuesday morning at the home of Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman, after which he's due to visit DreamWorks Animation studio in Glendale and meet with its honcho, Jeffrey Katzenberg, who's been one of his biggest political boosters.